The taste follows the aromas, with lots of grain and grassiness, full of flavor, with a perfectly bracing bitterness on the finish.

The vast majority of American lagers or kolsch-style beers are missing something, or out of balance in some way. This beer is missing nothing, perfectly in balance, tastes great and drinks crisp and refreshing. This is what beer should be. Major kudos to the Mankato Brewery!

Served on tap into a regular pint glass. This beer is a straw yellow, which would normally scare me off. But, one whiff of this beer and you know it's going to be something good. Fresh malt with wonderful floral and fruity hops. The flavor is incredibly complex and is a perfect session beer (pushing the limits, I know). It has a fresh bread/biscuit flavor that gives way to a spicy/floral hop character that and finishes with slightly fruity. There seems to be a little bit of mineral character at play in the finish as well. This beer is so enjoyable, I hold it in my mouth for a little longer than I normally do. If this came in cans/bottles I would have this on hand at all times without fail. A very enjoyable beer!

This beer is a great example if a kolsch. It has a light straw color with a white head. The head of the beer goes away leaving a thin white foam on the top. I really didn't get a lot of hop flavor, I did however get a great pilsner malt flavor. It has a sweet front taste with a dry afterbite. This is a great beer and with it being lower abv it would make a good session beer. As the beer warms the pilsner malt really kicks up. Its a fine example of a kolsch. It clean clear and tons of plisner flavor.

This beer pours a clear pale golden color. The head consists of one inch of bright white foam that recedes slowly into a small cap of lacing. The aroma is of fresh cut grass, some floral notes, a hint of honey, and a nice bready maltiness. The taste is considerably maltier than the aroma with some nice depth. There are doughy, toasty, and light toffee flavors mingling with each other. Some grassy hops are present, but only in a backing role. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with relatively high carbonation (which is appropriate for the style), and a smooth texture. Overall, I am mighty impress by this beer. I actually like this kolsch more than I like Summit Summer Ale, and I like that beer quite a bit. I find this beer to be more refreshing than Summit's version of the style which I thought was too dense in overall character to be truly refreshing.

Appearance: Pours a bright and clear pale golden orange with lots of rising bubbles. Big four finger white head with good retention. Lots of foamy lacing sticks around the glass.

Smell: A wheat driven and fairly floral aroma. Wheat grains and pale malts with hints of biscuit, crackers, and straw. Subtle hints of citrus lemon and orange. A nice scent of spice from some earthy and floral hops. Fairly grassy and grainy.

Taste: Like the smell indicates, a nicely bready and spicy taste. Lots of wheat grains up front along with pale malts. Good notes of crackers, hay, and biscuity bread. Solid backing of earthy noble hops that add a nice spice and bitterness. Light citrus lemon zest and orange. Nicely floral and balanced. Solid taste.

Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with a moderate amount of carbonation. Very crisp and smooth. Finishes pretty dry.

Overall: Based on my experience, this is as good as a Kolsch can get. I was surprised to learn that Mike "The Miz" from Summit became head brewer for Mankato, but now I am not surprised after tasting this. I can definitely see comparisons to his Unchained #1, and while this is likely lacking some of the expensive German ingredients that that beer had, I think this may actually be executed a little better. Great start for the new brewery.

Picked up a single at the Four Firkins and poured it into a Gaffel stange. It's a touch sweet at first, but overall a fine example of the style that nails the delicate malt profile. There's a white grape note in the aroma, along with clean, toasty grains. The barley is light and bready, and backed up by a mild earth hop bitterness. The finish is semi-dry, with more biscuit and toast in the aftertaste. If you're a fan of the style, check this out. There aren't enough good kolschs like this available.

Trying to check off the various new local breweries. Best by 21 November 2012. Tasted 9 November 2012, reviewed from notes.

Pours a very golden yellow, slightly orange. With light behind it, it becomes less orange, but away from the light it almost glows. One finger of ultra-white head, decent retention, relaxes to a nice thick cap, with pretty good lacing. Nice stream of bubbles rising up.

Smell is super crisp. Really clean and crisp, almost snappy with a bit of spice (the kind I'd expect from, say, Saaz hops). The malt is quite grainy. Definitely reminds me of a pilsener, with that crispness and spice.

Taste is very rounded, much more malty and grainy than I'd expect from the smell. Doesn't have that spicy hop presence, or the crispness. Instead it's malty, like wheat berries, a little extra-sweet (fruity with some white grape), with a light sting of bitterness.

Light-bodied, really nicely carbonated. Fizzy burst at first that relaxes and then comes rushing back. I like it.

Refreshing enough. Smell and feel are really nice, but the flavor is rather blah. Could be a lot more interesting. A weird highly-malty, light-grain beer.

A light body, but even for a Kolsch, feels too light. Dry feel, especially on the finish.

Extremely high drinkability. Would not be difficult at all to put several of these back, especially during a hot afternoon day. I would say this is a good flagship beer for a startup brewery. This one should appeal to quite a few people.

This beer comes courtesy of cpolking, thanks. Poured from a brown 12 oz. bottle. Has a light golden color with a 1/2 inch head. Smell is of malts, biscuits. Taste is the same, malts, biscuits, some hop presence, easy drinking. Feels medium bodied in the mouth and overall is a pretty good beer.